


Nothing Fake About It

by tryslora



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Eavesdropping, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, Prompt Fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-22
Updated: 2020-01-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 08:36:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22361095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tryslora/pseuds/tryslora
Summary: Derek shouldn’t be eavesdropping on this conversation. He was walking down the hall, minding his own business, and Stiles’s voice caught his attention. He really should just keep walking, and yet, he doesn’t go.
Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Comments: 34
Kudos: 427
Collections: Peeps Prompting Peeps Server Collection





	Nothing Fake About It

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nickelkeep](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nickelkeep/gifts).

> This was written in response to the 3 Sentence prompt "Sterek, Fake Relationship" and it is obviously more than 3 sentences. It was also written longhand and edited once while typing it up and came as a very welcome distraction while in a waiting room on a tough day.

“Danny, am I attractive to gay guys?” There’s a short pause, then Stiles’s voice again, slightly softer than before. “Or to probably straight but maybe bi if I dream hard enough guys?”

Derek shouldn’t be eavesdropping on this conversation. He was walking down the hall, minding his own business, and Stiles’s voice caught his attention. He really should just keep walking, and yet, he doesn’t go.

“Stiles, you’ve been asking me this since we were in middle school.” Danny sounds somehow exasperated and fond at the same time. “You dated Lydia. How can you still doubt that you’re attractive?”

“She’s not that shallow!”

“She still has standards.”

There’s a longer pause, and Derek can imagine the expression on Stiles’s face as he tries to work through that. Derek leans in closer; he doesn’t want to miss Stiles’s response.

“She’s not a guy.”

Danny’s low exhale is audible. “If I were not already in a committed relationship, I would date the fuck out of you,” he says, each word carefully enunciated.

“You’re lying, but I appreciate the sentiment.”

There it is, Stiles’s self-deprecation, even in the face of Danny admitting that he’s attractive. Danny’s not lying, Derek knows this. He’s smelled it often enough over the years. He has no idea why Danny never made a move on Stiles, but he’s definitely had his moments of attraction to him.

Stiles is silent for a long while, aside from tapping his fingers against something solid. Derek can easily imagine the way those long digits more with that strange, bewitching grace. He figures Danny’s watching, too, maybe waiting to see if Stiles’s had anything else to say.

Derek should move on, but he also wants to know if Stiles’s is going to keep going. He touches his fingers to the wall, tries to be aware of his surroundings so no one catches him listening in like this.

“I just—” Stiles stops as soon as he starts, drawing in a shuddering breath. His heart races, audible even from a distance. “I know it’s fake. I know we’re doing it just because I’m not an Emissary and I’m just human, and this other pack doesn’t have humans in it. So Derek’s saying that we’re a thing to protect the fragile human so I can be there for the negotiation. I know it doesn’t mean anything. But Danny….” He pauses again, the words tumbling out in a rush after. “I’ve thought about this for ten years, and I can’t help thinking that this is my chance. Even though I know it’s not. But if it were actually real, I’d date the fuck out of him.”

Another small pause, and as Derek pulls away, he almost doesn’t hear Stiles’s whisper.

“I really want to date the fuck out of him.”

Derek steps back, putting distance between himself and the wall. His hand hovers in the air until he remembers to lower it, then he hurries along, escaping this space as if he were never here. He shouldn’t have listened. That was eavesdropping on a private conversation, and it was wrong.

But.

He’s glad he did.

He stops at the end and leans back against the wall, closing his eyes as he replays Stiles’s words. Fuck. This is his chance. Because given the opportunity, Derek knows that he would date the hell out of Stiles Stilinski.

And maybe if he does it right, by the end of these negotiations there won’t be anything fake about this relationship at all.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me (mostly silent) on Tumblr as [tryslora](http://tryslora.tumblr.com) and on Pillowfort as [tryslora](https://www.pillowfort.io/tryslora). I also write original fiction! If you like my fic, you might like my original twice-weekly series [Welcome to PHU](http://welcometophu.tumblr.com) (also mirroring on Pillowfort at [Welcome to PHU](https://www.pillowfort.io/community/WelcomeToPHU)).


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